Life is an open book for Áine

BROADCASTER and journalist, Áine Lawlor, has been at the heart of Irish current affairs since 1994, but her story made headlines in 2011, when she took a break from presenting Morning Ireland for ‘medical reasons’.

Lawlor had cancer and her battle received much publicity. However, having restored her good health, she is back on our TV screens, and will be at the Ennis Book Club Festival, which takes place from Mar 1 to 3.

“I am an avid reader and there are always piles of books by my bedside, and too many books on my shelves,” she says.

“I don’t always stick to a particular genre, but I will usually have a gardening or a cookery book for browsing, a thriller, and something historical, all on the go at the same time.

“I’d heard about the Ennis Book Club Festival and they seem to have developed something special about books, so when Ciana Campbell asked me if I would like to take part, I thought it would be fun. There are many people, like me, who can’t imagine a life without books.

“We’ll never write one and we depend on the writers who do to provide us with that essential pleasure of reading.

“And when you find a book you love, one you know you’ll reread with pleasure, you want to tell everyone about it. So the book club festival seems, to me, to be a perfect celebration of readers’ love of books.” Throughout her battle with breast cancer, the mother-of-four relied on reading to get her through the darkest hours, and wouldn’t contemplate a day without it.

“I can’t imagine finishing a day without unwinding with a book,” she says.

“And if it’s a good one and I’m not in a rush anywhere, I’ll dive into it again, first thing, the next morning. My biggest problem is reading too fast, so, unless I’m busy, I’ll get through several books in a week.

“I don’t have a Kindle or an e-reader, but I can see how they’d be handy for holidays, as one of the problems with flying, nowadays, is that it’s hard to fit in clothes with all the books I want to bring into my suitcase — but, having said that, I still love the feel of a book, particularly a gardening or cookery book with nice, heavy paper, great pictures and a page marker.

“When I was sick, people used to say to me that I would be too whacked by the chemo to be able to read, but, fortunately, that didn’t happen. And I was able to enjoy reading my friend, Kathleen McMahon’s first book, This Is how It Ends, while I was in hospital for my surgery.

“All-in-all, I really can’t imagine not reading. There’s something about the privacy of reading, and escaping into an imaginative world, that I need. For some people, it’s cycling or rugby that helps them get away from it all, so I guess everyone is different. One of my sons has no time for books; that’s just the way he is. And my husband reads newspapers and magazines, but seldom reads books. That’s just the way some people are, but I can’t imagine it,” Lalwor says.

Lawlor’s love of reading not only kept her sane while she was undergoing treatment, but also inspired her latest television project, which will be aired later in the year.

“When I was off sick, I read a book about cancer, which I found really interesting, informative and moving,” she says.

“It was a history of cancer medicine by an American oncologist, called The Emperor of All Maladies, which won the Pulitzer Prize in the States. It reads like a thriller and traces the history of the medical search for a way to beat a disease that defeated doctors for centuries.

“And it’s told through the human stories of the doctors and patients who have put so much into that search.

“So it started me thinking of telling the story about cancer medicine in Ireland, in two television programmes that will go out in the autumn — a project we’re working on, at the moment, and it’s just a privilege to work on it. There are so many amazing people, patients, doctors, nurses and advocates who are part of this story.

“Having the chance to meet such interesting people, and show what they’re doing to a wider public, is one of the many things I love about my work.”

Lawlor will be choosing the ‘10 books you should read’, with Sean Moncrieff, at the Ennis Book Club Festival on Saturday, Mar 2, from 11.30am.

She will pick titles that have had significance in her life — books that made her laugh or cry, were useful to her professionally, or helped her through a difficult time.

Other speakers at the festival will be Joseph O’Connor, John Banville and Marina Lewycka.

* For information and tickets, visit www.ennisbookclubfestival.com